3rd August 2023
Highlights
- MinRes, a top 5 Australian iron ore producer and leading provider of mining services to the iron ore industry, to invest US$17.5M in BSL
- BSL’s technology reduces energy usage and CO2 emissions by up to 95% and 93% respectively compared to traditional iron ore pellet processes
- Funding will support the development of BSL’s Demonstration Plant Project
- MinRes will provide technical, engineering, project management and procurement support for BSL
London: Binding Solutions Limited (“BSL” or the “Company”) the UK-based metals processing technology company is pleased to announce that it has agreed a US$17.5m strategic investment from Mineral Resources Limited (“MinRes”), a leading Australian mining services company with a growing world-class portfolio of mining operations in iron ore and lithium.
BSL will use the funds raised to progress the design and construction of a demonstration plant (the “Demonstration Plant”) for its innovative technology capable of producing approximately 50 tonnes per hour of cold-bonded iron ore pellets.
BSL’s patented process uses minimal heat and very limited energy to produce high quality pellet or briquette products primarily for the global iron ore and steel industry. The technology reduces energy usage and CO2 emissions by up to 95% and 93% respectively compared to traditional induration processes, while also virtually eliminating SOx and NOx. At the same time, BSL’s technology enables reductions in capital investment costs of approximately 90% per 1 Mtpa of production.
BSL and MinRes have also agreed to partner on several initiatives that leverage their respective strengths in technology development and industrial scale materials handling as well as mining services.
BSL is considering a number of potential locations for the Demonstration Plant in the UK, EU and Western Australia and expects to make a decision on site selection by the end of 2023.
MinRes has the right to licence the BSL technology to manufacture cold-bonded pellets from iron ore at its own mines and will become the preferred builder of BSL pellet plants in global markets. MinRes will also provide design and engineering, project management, as well as procurement support for the Development Plant. MinRes also has the right to appoint a member of the BSL board of directors.
BSL has recently installed a 2 tonnes per hour pilot plant in its lab at the Materials Processing Institute in Teesside with the intention of running batches for customers.
MinRes Managing Director Chris Ellison said:
“BSL’s technology has the potential to rapidly play a major role in the decarbonisation of the global steel industry. MinRes has a track record of using innovation to solve problems and unlock value, and we are excited to partner with BSL to support this innovative technology.”
Julian Lee, CEO of Binding Solutions said:
“The partnership with MinRes is a hugely significant step for BSL and further validation of the innovative technology we have developed in the UK. Working with such a respected player in the global mining industry has the potential to rapidly accelerate and de-risk the roll out of our technology by giving us access to the deep expertise and networks that MinRes has built with some of the industry’s largest players over many years.
“We are now focussed on rapidly progressing plans for our demonstration plant and exploring the potential to apply our technology to lithium, a critical battery material.”
END
Contact:
Binding Solutions
Aura Financial
Jonathan Levy
+ 44 7939 274 153
+44 207 321 0000
info@bindingsolutions.com
Notes to editors:
Binding Solutions is a fast-growing technology company that has developed a patented process for significantly reducing carbon emissions from metals production, whilst helping the producers of steel and other metals to re-use waste materials, reduce costs and cut emissions of NOx and SOx. BSL’s technology has a very large addressable market of more than 1 billion tonnes.
We have commercially proven our technology at a major steel plant in the UK where it has operated since 2013. Our technology enables reductions of:
- 95% in energy usage
- 93% in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
- 100% in sulphur oxides (SOx)
- 99% in nitrogen oxide (NOx)
Our technology has the potential to replace the need for sintering and induration processes which are very energy intensive and account for approximately 15% of carbon emissions from the global steel industry¹. Annual emissions from the steel industry are estimated as equivalent to 2.6bn metric tonnes per annum (Worldsteel), so BSL’s technology could prevent the emission of up to 390 million tonnes of carbon per annum. This is equivalent to the total annual emissions of South Africa or approximately 1% of global emissions every year.
1 Wood Mackenzie
Mineral Resources Limited
Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) (MinRes) is a leading diversified resources company, with extensive operations in lithium, iron ore, energy and mining services across Western Australia. With a focus on people and innovation, MinRes has become one of the ASX’s best-performing companies since listing in 2006. For more information, visit www.mineralresources.com.au